INTERVIEW: George Sepich – Talk Marketing Now

In a corner of the Internet, some of the brightest Internet marketers are gathering every night to share trade secrets.

But this isn’t your typical marketing forum, Talk Marketing Now is part interactive chat room, part web show… hugely informative and entertaining, this is infotainment at its finest.

I also got the chance to speak with the guy behind it all, George Sepich…

Mick Meaney: George, thank you for taking time out from running TMN to talk to us. Can you tell us about your background.. when and how did you get into marketing?

George Sepich: I have a B.S. degree in Mass Communications from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois.

Upon graduating there in 1981, i went to work for the local CBS TV Network affiliate, and spent the first nine years of my career there as an award winning copywriter/producer in the Promotions Department. After doing that for some long I decided to get into Sales, and then worked as an Account Executive for the local FOX TV affiliate, selling TV commercial airtime to local businesses for about a year.

Then one day I was reading a trade journal, Electronic Media Magazine, and saw a classified ad that caught my attention. Is was an opportunity to work for Cascom Syndication, a special effects film house, based in Nashville Tennessee. I became their Illinois Representative, as an independent contractor, and started my own first company at that time, selling Cascom’s Animation Library, and Sound Effects Library, to TV Stations, Ad Agencies, and Corporations. I was a top seller for Cascom, generating lots of new customers. It really let me hone my selling skills.

It involved quite a bit of travel that I got tired off and after 2 years I decided to hook up with a locally based national company that sold print advertising in High School Sports Program Booklets. The sales process was done all over the phone, telemarketing really,
and I quickly became one of their top sellers. I was making pretty decent money doing that.

The sales manager at that company decided to open up his own company doing similar publications. I then went to work for him as his Sales Manager. After a couple years of doing the Sales Manager gig, I decided to open up my own print publishing company.

I still own that corporation today. But now have focused on mostly online marketing projects the last several years. The TMN Network being my latest and greatest.

Mick Meaney: How and when did you first get the idea for TMN.. what inspired you?

George Sepich: TMN has its roots in another online chat that I ran for marketers on Friday Nights.

It had the rather obvious name of Friday Night Chat. It was an open chat where Internet Marketers from around the world would drop by throughout the night. Normally it would ended up lasting until the wee hours of the morning. and we would all share marketing tactics and the news about product launches, and the latest marketing gossip. We call it the FNC for short, and an abbreviated version of it still actually happens each Friday Night as part of TMN.

The cool thing is that over that 2 year period in that chat room I got to know a lot of real smart Internet Marketers Many of them became close friends. Quite a few of those marketers from the FNC are now hosts of their own shows on my Talk Marketing Now Network.

I had casually mentioned to some of them previously over a couple month time period I wanted to create something new for Internet Marketers. A place where Marketers could easily share, learn, and network. At the time I pretty much knew I wanted to use the same Chat Conference system we had been using in the FNC, because it offered webcam, voice, and texting. But I had not yet nailed down the concept of what the
content would exactly be, or had I would execute the whole thing.

Then one morning I was sitting in front of my computer, and I had that light bulb moment.

“What I am going to do is offer all my brilliant Internet Marketing buddies their own show to share their marketing knowledge. I contacted one potential host. He said sure put me down to do it. Then I contacted another one. And another, And another. They all said yes! I had to twist a few of there arms at first to make it happen.:)

But in the matter of one days time, I had a whole day of programming for TMN lined up.

Within the next day, I had another whole days programming lined up. Suddenly I had great marketers with great shows happening on Wednedays and Thursdays. TMN network has since expanded from those days, and we now offer Marketing Show each day of the week, and are still adding more shows even as I speak.

Mick Meaney: What changes do you see for Internet marketing in the future?

George Sepich: I think the term Internet Marketing itself with start to disappear. Those words will lose meaning in the near future. Except when it is talked about in a past tense. Internet Marketing itself will become so dominent there will be no need to call it that. The IM’ers of now will become sort of historical figures in the future. The pioneers, hemesteaders, and outlaws of a virtual Wild West.

With the soon to happen explosion of QR codes, Mobile Marketing, and everyone soon having a Smart Phone, the Internet Marketeting world as we know it will change fast. In a way everyone will be a potential IM’er, within a short few years, I foresee everyone having access to there own personal type of ebay, craigslist, facebook etc.

At that point if you want to sell online, no matter whether it’s your own digital product, or you’re selling a litter of registered puppies, it will just go out into the world wide sales funnel.

Everyone will be an internet marketer. No need for the name any longer.

I also look for more government regulation. As eCommerce keeps growing leaps and bounds, there will be much more government regulation, and most likely taxation.

At that point I think an entire underground online black market will be born. And another Wild West period created. At that point the term Internet Marketing may come back into vogue. :)

Mick Meaney: What advice could you give to those promoting their products and services?

George Sepich: Overdeliver. Understand your customer base. Do what you say you are going to do. Give great followup support if needed.

Mick Meaney: What plans do you have for TMN, how do you see it growing and how can the RINF readership get involved or help promote the network?

George Sepich: The RINF readership can get involved in many ways. You are invited to take part in the shows on TMN itself. There is usually an opportunity on most shows to ask questions or give your own input, using Web Cam, Microphone, or Text Chat.

As TMN expands we are also looking for more great marketers to become TMN show hosts. If you would like to audition to become a TMN host send me an email at talkmarketingnow@gmail.com and I will followup with you as soon as possible.

We also have a facebook page at http://facebook.com/TalkMarketingNow Drop by and post on our Wall. And spread the word about TalkMarketingNow.com With awesome people like the RINF readership now finding out about TMN I see our Network growing and growing and growing fast! :)

George Sepich: I am still saving a time slot on TMN for The Mick Meaney Marketing Show! We will get you on TMN, Sooner or Later!

Mick Meaney: That’s very kind George, I genuinely wish I had the time, it would be fantastic to be part of TMN.

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Spend just one hour in TMN and you’ll be hooked. In fact, I was so impressed with the quality, ethics and the integrity of the shows and hosts, I have decided to permanently list every daily TMN show in the RINF sidebar because not only this is something that benefits our readership but also benefits the entire online marketing community.

Ive been following tmn since it was first mentioned in the rinf email digest and its only got better since then. theres a lot more shows on it now and everybody has always been patient with my noob questions.

im glad to see programs listed on rinf so i dont forget to log in and learn new stuff.

http://www.seankinsey.com/ Sean Kinsey

Cool interview George and Mick! I’ve been hanging out at the TMN Network for about 6 months now and all I have to say is … time well spent.. Awesome Shows! Looking forward to the Mick Meaney show on TMN.. ( subtle hint… ) :)

http://rinf.com/ Mick Meaney

Completely agree with you Sean, it’s a brilliant and entertaining way to spend an evening.